I do like the idea of the small all-terrain looking trailers where the tent mounts to it rather than the truck. That way in case you DID wanna drive somewhere you wouldn't have to pack up camp to do it. I've seen several of them in this post, too.

OK. Thanks for the answers. I see a lot of points in what you all are saying. Like one poster said, you don't have to worry about bears, mountain lions, snakes, scorpions and the like here in the Midwest. But I get the weather part, too. I have woke up with torrential downpours happening and with what seemed like a river running thru my tent...all my bedding soaked. Made for a MISERABLE night! Maybe if I find one for a steal, I may try and snag one, lol...

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I'll probably get rid of my current ground tent and go back to rebuilding my backpacking setup. In a pinch, I could just use that.

Just a question from someone here in Illinois. I see lots of Tacoma around...more all the time it seems. I have not seen a single one with a rooftop or bed-mounted tent setup like a lot of y'all have. To me, it seems they are quite expensive compared to a traditional tent. And it seems setup is not THAT much easier. What is the draw to have them vs traditional setups??? Are bears the issue out there? I don't get it but help me understand...

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I think the trend is still making its way to the Midwest. Not a lot of dealers out here either

OK. Thanks for the answers. I see a lot of points in what you all are saying. Like one poster said, you don't have to worry about bears, mountain lions, snakes, scorpions and the like here in the Midwest. But I get the weather part, too. I have woke up with torrential downpours happening and with what seemed like a river running thru my tent...all my bedding soaked. Made for a MISERABLE night! Maybe if I find one for a steal, I may try and snag one, lol...

I see the rooftop tents and think they are cool, but then think that is the only reason I want it. I tend to stick with ground tents or since breaking my back a few months ago towing the casita. Also for the price there are a lot of other things I could buy.

I see the rooftop tents and think they are cool, but then think that is the only reason I want it. I tend to stick with ground tents or since breaking my back a few months ago towing the casita. Also for the price there are a lot of other things I could buy.

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I hear you. Last time I camped was 18 years ago. I had a 1988 Dodge Caravan I took the back seats out of and threw away. Twin size mattress laid in the back was the berries.

Just a question from someone here in Illinois. I see lots of Tacoma around...more all the time it seems. I have not seen a single one with a rooftop or bed-mounted tent setup like a lot of y'all have. To me, it seems they are quite expensive compared to a traditional tent. And it seems setup is not THAT much easier. What is the draw to have them vs traditional setups??? Are bears the issue out there? I don't get it but help me understand...

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I don't get it either but to each their own. Never had a problem with bears, bugs or snakes. And there are precautions one can take if those pose an issue.

My guess on the bear fear is too much Hollywood such as The Revenant, Backcountry and other fake movies scaring the schit outta da young folks!

I'm not worried about bears or creepy-crawlies at all. For me, my RTT is roomy, super-simple and fast to set up/pack up, has a very comfortable mattress, and all of my bedding is already in it, ready to go in the 2-3 minutes or so it takes to open it up. I don't have to carry all of that gear in my bed, so I have plenty of room for my astronomy gear, hiking gear, fishing gear, camp kitchen, food, etc. It doesn't need to be staked out, and it's super-stable. In addition, my wife has arthritis, and she finds it SO much easier to get in and out of than a ground tent. Yes, they CAN BE expensive, but I find it really quite funny that so many people here bitch about the cost of a RTT, yet don't blink an eye when spending thousands of dollars on lifts, wheels, tires, bumpers, batteries, winches, compressors, bed racks, cold air intakes, dump tubes, custom software, leather seat covers, etc., etc. To each their own, eh?

Awesome setup you have there! And I am typically NOT a blue vehicle fan, but those BBP Tacoma OffRoads just have the look!

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Thanks! I didn’t go looking for blue but it was the only one I could find that had everything I wanted. A DCLB OR with tech and premium is apparently really hard to find. I got a great deal on this used one so I couldn’t pass it up. The blue has grown on me though.

I'm not worried about bears or creepy-crawlies at all. For me, my RTT is roomy, super-simple and fast to set up/pack up, has a very comfortable mattress, and all of my bedding is already in it, ready to go in the 2-3 minutes or so it takes to open it up. I don't have to carry all of that gear in my bed, so I have plenty of room for my astronomy gear, hiking gear, fishing gear, camp kitchen, food, etc. In addition, my wife has arthritis, and she finds it SO much easier to get in and out of than a ground tent. Yes, they CAN BE expensive, but I find it really quite funny that so many people here bitch about the cost of a RTT, yet don't even blink an eye when spending thousands dollars on lifts, wheels, tires, bumpers, batteries, winches, compressors, bed racks, cold air intakes, dump tubes, custom software, leather seat covers, etc., etc. To each their own, eh?

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I wasn't bitching about the cost, just simply making an observation that compared to basically the same size ground tent, they are like way more expensive. I admitted there must be factors justifying their use that I was missing. And several here have pointed out things like ease of setup, bedding packs inside, no worries with rainy weather, no worries finding a level spot, very comfortable mattress, doesn't take up any bed space, etc... Ya just don't see them here in the Midwest so I was wondering what the draw was. And again...Thanks for all the responses.

Thanks! I didn’t go looking for blue but it was the only one I could find that had everything I wanted. A DCLB OR with tech and premium is apparently really hard to find. I got a great deal on this used one so I couldn’t pass it up. The blue has grown on me though.

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I, too, had a hard time finding what I wanted...a TRD OR with the long bed. If you see 20 Tacomas driving around here over several days, 19 will be the short bed. A few months ago I traded my F150 for a '19 TRD OR in black with the short bed and had it a week till I figured out no way was that gonna work for me. I play music(drums) and that extra foot really makes a huge difference in cargo capacity. I drove from So Illinois to So Tennessee and traded at a dealer for the long bed. I traded even '19 for '19. Mine had the Prem/leather/moonroof pkg w/short bed while the new one had simply the tech pkg w/the long bed. The bed was more important to me than the leather and moonroof... And let me tell ya, this cement truck is SO much easier to keep clean.

I, too, had a hard time finding what I wanted...a TRD OR with the long bed. If you see 20 Tacomas driving around here over several days, 19 will be the short bed. A few months ago I traded my F150 for a '19 TRD OR in black with the short bed and had it a week till I figured out no way was that gonna work for me. I play music(drums) and that extra foot really makes a huge difference in cargo capacity. I drove from So Illinois to So Tennessee and traded at a dealer for the long bed. I traded even '19 for '19. Mine had the Prem/leather/moonroof pkg w/short bed while the new one had simply the tech pkg w/the long bed. The bed was more important to me than the leather and moonroof... And let me tell ya, this cement truck is SO much easier to keep clean.